Search

Handloom industry is among the oldest industries in India, dating back to Saraswati-Indus Civilization, and various archaeological findings and ancient texts manifest its existence. The handloom sector is the second largest employment provider after agriculture, and accounts for nearly 15% of the cloth production in India. The uniqueness and versatility in weaves and designs of textiles from various regions of the country illustrate the rich tradition of India. Indian textiles gained prominence during ancient and medieval times; however, the colonial period destroyed the handloom industry and weavers. Britishers strategically broke the handloom industry by exporting raw material from India and selling finished textile products back to India, which consequently affected the Indian economy. The significance of the Indian handloom was recognized later and became a huge part of the freedom struggle, thus establishing the Swadeshi Movement in 1905 for revival of the Indian Handloom. In this paper, the journey of the Indian handlooms, the current scenario, the challenges, and the policy measures implemented to revamp the sector have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative coupling of benzylamines with indoles to bis‐(indolyl)methanes (BIMs) was achieved using an inexpensive water‐soluble cobalt complex, Co(bpb). The catalyst was found to be quite effective when air was used as the oxidant and water as solvent under mild reaction conditions. Aromatic amines were successfully converted to the corresponding BIMs with yields up to 85 %. We have successfully carried out a 1 gram scale reaction, and few pharmaceutically relevant compounds were also synthesised by this method in good yields. Control experiments have also been carried out to understand the possible reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]